The present embodiments relate to medical ultrasound imaging. In particular, two or three dimensional ultrasound imaging has an extended field of view.
Many medical ultrasound arrays have a flat or convex acoustic window surface. This surface may not fit the body shape for scanning. Sonographers have to press and move the transducer probe to mate the probe to the surface of the patient. As a result, a scan and corresponding images may be difficult to reproduce. Such a probe may also cause sonographer discomfort. Multidimensional arrays, such as two dimensional arrays, may have even greater problems due to large surface area.
Some transducer arrays are on catheters or other probes for insertion into the patient. In order to accurately acquire and render imaging data, the distal “active imaging” portion of an ultrasound catheter probe or endoscope is usually straight and rigid. In applications where large field view and high resolution are desired, a large active imaging aperture is desired. Thus, the ultrasound catheter probe includes a long rigid portion at the distal end. This long rigid portion of a catheter probe creates difficulties for probe introduction and navigation, may cause patient discomfort, and may limit probe access to some clinical areas. When array length is not long enough to accommodate large field of view at the close-up range, the catheter is mechanically translated to form an extended view. However, the shape of the region of interest may change with the movement of catheter, making feature positions on the generated image inaccurate.